Autumn White Wedding

I recently received a request for ideas on an autumn wedding. Not that I have anything against fall colors, but sometimes it’s fun to march to the beat of your own drum. Try instead an autumn rehearsal dinner, bridal shower or wedding reception using the more unlikely colors of white, cream and chartreuse with touches of earthy brown for good measure. (For more wedding table ideas click here!)

If the weather is still warm enough in fall to do an outdoor wedding event, go for it! When you set up outdoors, the sky is the limit where your decorating options are concerned!!!

A full-length ivory table linen is topped with a satiny brown runner to add color and dimension to the tabletop. The place settings are fairly traditional with glossy silver chargers and ivory dishware from TJ Maxx. (One huge no-no is to use items that will upstage the reception decor on “The Big Day.”)

The napkin (Bed Bath & Beyond) is very simply folded across the dinner plate and tucked beneath. A white mini pumpkin is centered on each napkin. While a faux pumpkin is used for this sample setting, I suggest using the real thing. Mini pumpkins can be purchased at the grocer this time of year for around 50 cents apiece, and they make a great little take-home gift. (Or you can take the leftover pumpkins to bling them up and use them in a fall arrangement like here.) If you know a calligrapher or someone with exceptional handwriting skills, ask them to pen the names of each guest onto the pumpkins! Cooler yet….have them inscribe the monogram of each guest. That’s really different and kinda fancy to boot! 🙂

Keep the flatware along the same line of formality as the rest of the setting. The design on this flatware is similar to the pattern on the rim of the dinner plate. I went with Cristal d’Arques “Longchamps” crystal that offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Long tables offer an opportunity to do so many cool things with the centerpiece!
A mix of high and low arrangements fill out this 12-ft. table. For even longer tables (so cool to see 18-, 24-, or even 36-ft. tables!!!), add more high ones to balance it out. For this table, I used a little wrought iron number I bought earlier this year. It’s reversible…or at least I made it that way by accident! Lesson learned? Play with your toys…don’t just use them the way they were displayed at the store!!!

This is the way it’s used here, but it’s actually upside down and missing some parts!

This is how it’s supposed to look. I finally figured out what all those “extra” mystery pieces were for!

I outfitted the top of the centerpiece with a grapevine wreath bought at Hobby Lobby. I secured it with floral wire. Next came lots and lots of flowers including chartreuse and creamy white hydrangea, white roses, and a few orchid blooms. (Sprigs of green hypericum berries, unripened coffee beans or unripened raspberries would really look slick and add more texture, too!) Hydrangea quickly wilts, so the trick is to put the water vial on the end of the floral stem immediately AFTER it is inserted into the wreath so it doesn’t wiggle loose. (Took me half the doggone wreath to figure that one out! :-() Use floral tape to secure the vials to the twigs so they don’t poke out or fall off during dinner…which would be highly embarrassing! Tuck in bits of fabulously bright chartreuse reindeer moss to help hide the mechanics of your arrangement, and finish it off with a plump white pumpkin. (Hint: When you go wreath and pumpkin shopping, take the centerpiece you’ll be working with along to make sure the wreath is the right size and that the pumpkin won’t overwhelm or topple it.)

The ugly little spindly legs on the bottom part of the centerpiece are camouflaged with mounds of florals accented with reindeer moss and a white mini pumpkin.

A mini pumpkin rests comfortably on a cushy bed of reindeer moss. I like the moss to look a little bit messy as nature would have it.

The side globes hold a single orchid bloom atop more reindeer moss.

The smaller components of the extended centerpiece correspond with the main piece. Iron candlesticks with fat pillar candles are flanked by small rose-filled globes stuffed with reindeer moss to keep a consistent look.

This same concept could easily apply to a winter wedding by swapping out the pumpkins with oversized ornaments. The look also works well indoors so long as the height of the centerpiece doesn’t interfere with overhead lighting, fans, etc.

A special shout out and great big thank you to Angie over at Echoes of Laughter who helped me figure out how to get rid of the bothersome “no reply” feature when I leave comments on other blogs. Teamwork paid off!!!

Hi, Andrea! Thank you! The centerpiece was purchased at a wholesale place awhile back, and unfortunately they no longer carry them because I would otherwise be happy to send one to you. I think it was only around $30. I’m thinking, though, that there are other items out there that are similar in construction…like certain candelabra? I have in the past wired a floral wreath to the top of a silver 4-branch candelabra, and it turned it looking fantastic! If I find a photo of it around here somewhere, I will send it to you. It has been about 3 or 4 years ago that I did it, so I’ll need to browse through those CDs. (That was back before I started using the little camera with the USB thingie.) One thing I do recall is that you have to really secure it! I not only wired it, but also tied rubber bands around the ties so that it wouldn’t move up and down the slick silver. Just a tip!

I am crazy about this!! My niece had a November wedding. We used the greens and white with plum. I wish we had thought about white pumpkins. It makes me want to throw another fall wedding just to copycat you. LOL

I wish you had moved to Savannah… your incredible talent would be a short car ride away.

Hey, Debbie! I’m so glad you like it, and I love the idea of incorporating plum. I’m sitting here looking at a plum-colored Mikasa goblet that I stole borrowed from my Mom, and I know it would look fabulous with those other colors minus the brown. Savannah was not meant to be, but you had better believe I’ll be getting in touch should we ever head that way again! Have a good night, and thanks for stopping in!

I love this! You did a great job combining some traditional elements with the warm color for fall. The center piece is awesome! You are such an inspiration for ideas! I love the affect that the reindeer moss gives. I have a bag of it and it use it then put it right back for the next time! It looks awesome with the orchids and the roses..it dresses them out yet keeps a bit of an organic feel to it. Super job! Hugs…Liz

Thank you, Liz! I like how you described it as an “organic” feel. That’s what I was going for. It’s sometimes just a matter of walking that fine line between a Euell Gibbons Grape Nuts commercial and an ad for Tiffany’s! 🙂 I do the same thing with reindeer moss…I reuse it ’til it’s good and dead! It’s too expensive to toss after a single use, and it seems to last practically forever!

I love this idea.. brown, green and white.. a wonderful fresh, alive, earthly combination. Good for so many venues. Your centerpiece and all your explanations – totally amazing. Love the white pumpkins too. I have to save this picture to remember this idea.. Truly magnificent.. Maybe I can use this for the next child in line to the altar? Thanks so much for all the detail Alycia, this is another book worthy table. When did you say it was coming out? xo marlis

Hi, Marlis! I’m glad you like it! I wish I had a relative getting married sometime soon. All the girls are so “independent” and my son….well, let’s just say he’s in NO hurry to get to the altar despite having found someone who is good for him. But that’s a story for another day….! 🙂 Whenever someone specifically requests a table, I feel obligated to put in a lot of explanation. Makes it pretty wordy, but at least they get the 25 cent tour into my thinking!

Alycia, my dear, I am so loving this tablescape!! It’s everything that I love! The chartreuse, the chocolate brown, the hydrangeas…it is sheer perfection!! The white pumpkins are just the icing on the cake! This is just such a fresh idea for a fall weedding. I agree with you…a monogram on the pumpkins at each setting would be just stunning! Great job!!

Wowser!! Another beautiful table. I love the use of the grapevine softened with the beautiful hydrangeas. The rich brown runner and napkins are so fitting for this time of year. Funny, I wear “a lot” of brown, decorate with it in my home, have a few pieces for the table, but NO solid brown runner or napkins, now girlfriend, I must fix that. lol… hugs ~lynne~

Thank you, Lynne! Yes, you MUST fix that if you don’t have any brown runners or napkins! I’m not too in love with these brown runners (I had to use 2-72″ ones for the 2 tables here) because they’re to satiny for my taste. I have pink ones out of the same basic fabric. Oh, well…live and learn! I’m so glad I didn’t ditch all my grapevine wreaths like I intended to earlier this year. I have them in several sizes including 2 that are HUGE!!! I have a renewed appreciation for them, so I guess they’re staying! 🙂

Alicia, you ALWAYS dazzle me with your tables!! Just today, I bought 10 of the mini mini pumpkins, but yours look perfect compared to mine. I think the flooding in the farm fields a month ago made water spots on the pumpkins. I am loving the classic white!!

I know so many people’s farms got wiped out this year…it’s terrible! Here in the Midwest a lot of them were wiped out when the Corps of Engineers opened up a levy and let the water destroy everything in its path. Several states were greatly affected. So many people lost so much. Makes me wanna scream…and smack someone! 🙂 My pumpkins here were faux, so that’s why they look as they do. I would have preferred some that I saw at the store, but since this was a demo table I didn’t want to spend the money that I don’t have to begin with!

I love this,so elegant! I am not an orange person, so this def speaks to me. Love the centerpieces,too. Just beautiful!

I am a calligrapher, I have done more wedding envelopes and certificates than I care to remember. My son went to Catholic school, so those nuns always had a project for me! And the pay was outstanding! 🙂

So send me your pumpkins and I will happily inscribe them! Or find a nearby monk! 🙂

You are SO funny! I knew you had some Catholic school humor in you! I’m sure the pay WAS outstanding….out standing in someone else’s pocket than yours! I went to Catholic school from grade school on (even went to a Jesuit college), so I know exactly what you’re talking about! Every good nun knows how to work it! 🙂 I’m thrilled to have gotten that no reply thing off there, too! I have been working at it forever!!! I couldn’t figure it out. Then suddenly this morning it came to me. Angie said something about GMail, and I had never made the connection. I didn’t know! Ugh! 😦 But it’s all fixed now…hallelujah and thank the Lord! The pumpkins are in the mail! 😉

You have done it again! You have a gift to share with everyone. Have you ever considered sending your blog to Nate Burkus? It would be wonderful to see you on his show with a challenge to arrange a table.

Great color combo and I love the TALL arrangements with the grape vine wreath and the hydrangeas, roses, and orchids. White pumpkins are the perfect Autumn touch. You did it again Alycia ! How do you come up with all these fabulous settings??

Hi, Babs! My brain is in overdrive 90% of the time. I think that’s why I don’t sleep well at night. I wish I could churn out the tablescapes as quickly as the ideas come. My little studio staging tables are just creaking with various ideas. (I put the starting elements of an idea onto the staging table so I don’t forget about it when all the other ideas start flooding in, AND that gives me chance to build it slowly over several days or weeks. If we’re having a dinner party, I can mull the decor over for awhile and make sure all the elements are just right before I actually put them on the dining room table!) I’m so glad you stopped by!!!! Have a happy day! 🙂

Hi Alycia~
This is STUNNING! I adore this color combination~ for Fall or any season! Your centerpiece is outstanding and so creative! I love all your elements and textures~ the white pumpkins, hydrangeas, orchids & reindeer moss~ so beautiful set against your grapevine base too! You never cease to amaze me with your creativity 🙂

Oh, no you didn’t!!! I just visted YOUR most recent post, and YOUR creativity was bangin’!!!!! That centerpiece was so lush! Wow…you put in so many different elements that it just looked like the epitome of fall! I’ve never been comfortable with adding large fruits and vegetables to “standing” arrangements. I’m just scared I’ll mess it up. I need to practice. Yours looks so great, and the addition adds so much to the overall look. The centerpiece is a perfect companion to both the dishes and the tablecloth! I’ve seen those wine bottle candelabra, and I think they are so cool. It IS a great way to enjoy the memory of the evening a bit longer. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a glorious day!

You keep doing such amazing high centerpieces! I just love this one and the colors are so soothing and beautiful. What a lovely combination of flowers too. I especially love the green orchids. Very, very pretty Alycia.

Alycia! This is a fairytale table! Perfect for a young bride. I can see how this would make a bride’s eyes light up! I think you got the color just right. LOVE browns, greens and white… so up to the minute chic!
You did a masterful job with the center of the table. There are so many thing to feast our eyes on… while not letting it get busy! Your main centerpiece is a masterpiece! Such great elements… moss, roses, pumpkins, grape vines… WOW , you hit a rehearsal dinner home run!
Yvonne

A —
I was just reading your comments and your responses to them and I am sitting here with my mouth hanging open. I CANNOT believe that you have a staging area, too! I swear, girl, you make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I have a bunch of post office letter bins (don’t tell that I never returned them) that I have lined up on the floor of my “vault” (read:storage room). In them, I start assembling different looks and when I think they are really percolating, I finish up the gathering and hunting and set that table. And how about that “can’t sleep” thing? When else would we get these good ideas? Do you have a pad of paper beside the bed and make notes in the dark? And here’s another eerie fact. The table I’m working on now for a luncheon for my bridge group is white with apple green. Are you just a little bit weirded out? Hope I can do mine half as well as you did. Love it!
Linda @ A Toile Tale

Oooooohhhh….I’m tellin’!!! 😉 That’s actually a great idea. Hmmmmm….thinking, thinking, thinking….!!! The staging area was my husband’s brainchild. He knows I need to be able to walk past ideas for days (sometimes weeks!) on end to really get a feel for them. He suggested a staging area so I could do just that…and it works out perfectly! It’s on the other side of my office, so as I’m flipping through my computer catalog (yes…I have EVERYTHING catalogued with photos, descriptions, measurements, number available, etc.!!!) I can easily figure out what works and what doesn’t. I add to each vignette a little at a time or however it comes to me. Works out great! I love your description of your “vault!” I have a little sign over one of the storage room doors that says, “The Good Stuff Is In Here”. What am I trying to do…tip off the burglars so they don’t have to search? No pad and paper by the bed. I usually get up and walk across the hall to my office and bookmark the pages of the computer catalog. It’s crazy, but it’s true! Good luck with your bridge group table! Can’t wait to see it because I KNOW it’s going to be fabulous. How could it be anything but???? See ya later, buddy!

Hi Alicia, this is a very cool color combination for fall! It’s amazing how you take something, like that fun centerpiece, and make it into something so beautiful. Great ideas, and another gorgeous table! I am always anxious to see what you come up with!!

Thank you, Betsy! I love messing around with stuff and making it look different! My staging area is always hoppin’ with ideas! I’m afraid the table is going to collapse under the weight of it all if I don’t get crackin’! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, and have a relaxing weekend!

I love this color combo. I am already planning to use these elements for my fall front porch decorating next year. I think the reindeer moss is just stunning with the white roses and pumpkins. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas with us!

Hi, Taunnie! Thank you for coming by to see me yesterday. I’m glad you like this one. When you do your front porch, please come on by and do mine, too. I have been SO bad this year! Have a happy weekend!

You are absolutely amazing!!! I, too, love this more subtle color combo for fall (though I also adore the traditional orange/red,etc.) and this is TREMENDOUSLY ELEGANT….for a rehearsal dinner…for an actual wedding…for ANYTHING!
Your attention to detail blows my mind EVERY SINGLE WEEK!!!!

Every time I come to one of your posts, I think “well, of course everything looks so great, she probably spent a fortune.” Then I read what you’ve written and am reminded that you shop in the same stores I do. You just have an amazing way of putting things together to look uber expensive! Great choice of brown. Always more casual than black. I went to a wedding last weekend and white pumpkins were quite prevalent! Thanks for sharing your beautiful table with us!

Hi, Elaine!!! Thank you for stopping by! I try not to spend too much money, and since the whole Savannah debacle I haven’t really been able to spend any at all. I feel blessed to have had a pretty healthy repertoire left over from my recent days of owning a retail wedding rental boutique. I retired a couple of years ago and sold about 90% of the inventory, but you just know I had to keep some goodies for myself! 😉 We are blessed in that there is ample storage here at home to keep everything. (I have carved out a lot of extra space in unmentionable places! :-)) I always look for new ways to present stuff. Right now I’m on a spray paint kick since I can’t afford to go out and buy new stuff. Pray for us….I get crazy with a can of spray paint! 🙂 Have a great weekend, and thanks again for stopping in!

Wow, my friend, you have outdone yourself! What always amazes me about your work is how perfectly detailed everything is and yet it looks so effortless. The brown/green combination I am crazy about. Finally, alycia, your comments are the best. Everyone should appreciate your effort to say something meaningful. Hugs

Hi, Miss Linda! Thank you so much! If it looks effortless, I must be doing something wrong! I want people to think I slaved for hours and hours and hours on end! 😉 That one wine table was an hours on end project, but these simpler ones aren’t too bad as long as the weather and daylight cooperate. I’m always so eager to leave a comment because I know everyone has worked as hard (or harder!) as me to put together something to show to the world. That effort should be recognized and acknowledged, and I’m happy to do it. It brings me such great joy to “mingle” with everyone on TT each week. It’s like having friends who don’t want to borrow a cup of sugar or your clothes! 😉 Have a great weekend, Linda, and thanks for popping in! (Wow…I see you stopped in this morning. I thought I’d been on here since then!)

Hi, Summer! Thank you!!! There’s just something about reindeer moss that’s so appealing…I can’t resist it! I’m not so fond of the red reindeer moss, but I’m sure it would grow on me if I found something cool to do with it. Have a great weekend, and thank you for stopping in!

Thank you! They are my favorite! I kind of get sick of them after the long winter months when I’m stuck inside with that being my only option, but I always come back to loving them again. Have a beautiful weekend!

Do you think that maybe the hospital accidentally separated us at birth? We share so many of the same design sensibilities. I love the napkin used as a ribbon wrapping the plate, and of course, the color choices are perfect…just what I would have picked! Thank you for stopping by and for sharing your beautiful tablescape. Cherry Kay

Hi Alycia, I have to tell you, if there is an oscar for creating amazingly beautiful table then you are the winner, no question asked. Each and every tablesetting have inspired me and have left me dreaming. I don’t know which one to drool over first…your amazingly gorgeous collection of china, silverware and crystals or your beautiful use of color, texture and style. Loved how you mixed browns and greens and the cute touches of creamy white pumpkins. The centerpiece using the wreath and the green hydrangeas is absolutely brilliant idea! Thanks for your loving comment on my autumn entertaining post. Always a pleasure to have you visit me with your inspiring comment. I love those mother-of-pearl flat wares as well. Have a great week! ~Poppy

Hi, Jenny! Thank you! I had to tear it down, of course, because it was outdoors. I’m having a girls night in here tonight with completely different decor, but will recreate that table in the morning so it will be set up by the time I go to pick him up from the airport. Whew!